


With No Trust

by LadyNovaJade



Series: Alternate Universe [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slow Burn, Team Building, Trust Issues, a bit of making out, bad language, family stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 23:36:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5025100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNovaJade/pseuds/LadyNovaJade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers is pretty smitten with Toni Stark. He's made up his mind to make his move at the After Party. But what he finds is no matter what he feels for Toni, there has to be trust...</p>
            </blockquote>





	With No Trust

Reveling, Celebrating. Whatever Toni wanted to call it, Steve still wasn’t quite sure what the point of it all was. Sure, he enjoyed the company of his friends and teammates. The taste of beer was still good and the idea of sharing an evening full of laughter and bonding sounded a hell of a lot better than being alone in an apartment that wasn’t really home.

But this … Steve felt a frown on his lips as he looked out at the packed room in Avengers Tower. So many people he didn’t know…

Steve took a long draw of his beer, eyes scanning again, pausing for a few moments on any Avengers he saw. All laughing, all relaxed. All reveling.

All except Toni.

For a self-proclaimed partier and life of any event, Toni Stark was pretty absent from the current one she was throwing. Steve kept telling himself he only kept looking for her because it was strange for her to not be around. He was okay with ignoring the voice that said he was worried, that he cared probably more than he should.

 _What’s so wrong with caring?_  a voice that reminded him suspiciously of Peggy sounded in his head.

 _Nothing wrong with caring,_  he thought. _I care about the entire team._

 _But Toni’s special,_ Peggy’s voice continued.  _Toni would get you, Steve. And you would get her._

Steve shook his head unconsciously as if it would clear away the confusion. He lifted his beer, feeling a bit of disappointment at it being empty already. However, it gave him a reason to stop thinking, so he moved down the stars toward the bar. His eyes still searched the crowd for Toni, realizing he’d really yet to see her that night. His brain registered the music was slower, sounding like a soft, big band tune. There was even a few couples swaying together on a dance floor. Steve swallowed hard, picking up the pace to the bar.

He came up to the end of the bar and gripped the edges, making himself take a couple deep breaths. That’s when he realized he was sweating; why was he sweating? He needed to focus on something – something other than the laughter and closeness of the crowds. The familiar music in the background, Peggy’s voice in his head.

Steve closed his eyes, suddenly thinking of the day two months before when he showed up at Avengers Tower to see Toni, she’d banged up her hand really bad and he’d patched her up. It had been quiet in the lab; Toni had joked with him, had given him a heart-stopping smile. Remembering the comfortable moments they’d had, Steve slowly felt himself ease. Suddenly he wished he could find her more than anything else.

Steve’s eyes flew open at the thought; best forget it now. Toni Stark wasn’t someone Steve could pin down. Best not travel any further down that road.

Before another internal debate could fire up again, he realized he wasn’t the only one standing at the bar. A few feet down, Bruce was on one side, looking slightly perplexed leaning forward cautiously as Nat stood on the other side, looking demur, flirty as she spoke in quiet tones. All thoughts of his own issues vanished as he watched them interact. The longer the two teammates spoke, the more Steve became intrigued. Steve and Nat had been on enough missions now he could almost read her like a book.

Right now, she was calm, relaxed. He had mistaken it for flirting and now saw how wrong he was. He was surprised, not in a bad way. He knew all the Avengers had their own demons, maybe Nat most of all. It was great to see her opening up.

Apparently, their conversation was over as Nat moved toward Steve at the end of the bar. He gave her a small, knowing smile, which earned him a stern glare.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said as she passed him. Steve couldn’t help but laugh.

He turned back to look at Bruce, who seemed to still be a little lost as to what had happened. The doctor must have felt he was being watched because he suddenly turned to Steve. “What?” he asked.

Steve held up his hands, “Nothing. Just … it’s nice, that’s all. You and Romanoff having a moment like that,” he said honestly.

Steve almost got enjoyment out of the sheer look of panic that came across Bruce’s face. “Oh no, that was not … anything … or …” The doctor stuttered, eyes wide behind his glasses.

Steve laughed, “Relax, we don’t have any by-laws or rules on that stuff.” He paused and pursed his lips wondering if he should meddle at all. “It’s nice to see her relaxed. She isn’t often that way with people.”

Bruce, however, shook his head adamantly. “No. Natasha, she flirts you know. That’s her thing. She does that with all of us.”

Steve smiled knowingly, reaching for another beer on the other side of the bar. “Nope, Doc. I’ve seen Nat flirt, up close. Trust me, this ain’t that.”

Bruce allowed a small smile to grace his face, as if he was actually hoping what Steve said was true.  _That was good,_  Steve thought. The super soldier popped the top of the beer and took a drink. That was the moment when his eyes landed on Toni. Standing on the level above the main party, she was by herself, looking out over the crowd almost longingly.

It was the first time he had seen her all night and now that his eyes had landed on her, he couldn’t look away. Her long chestnut hair had been curled and swept to one side elegantly. Her dress was simple; Steve could make out a deep dark crimson red under a black lace overlay. Her long, tan legs led his eyes down to a strappy black heel. Suddenly his tongue was heavy; like lead in his mouth.

“So … you don’t think the rest of the team would freak out?” Bruce asked, bringing Steve back.

The captain cleared his throat and finally tore his gaze from Toni. “Listen, Bruce. Take it from the guy who’s the world’ expert on waiting,” Steve paused to glance back up at Toni. “Don’t. You two deserve something good. Don’t stop yourself from going for it.”

And just because he might have been afraid of rambling more, Steve brought his beer back up and took a long, long drink. He still couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Toni again, telling himself he just wanted to make sure she was there.

“What about you, then?” Bruce suddenly asked.

Steve looked at him, eyebrow raised. “What about me?” he echoed.

Bruce gave a scoff that almost sounded like a laugh. “What about you taking your own advice? Not waiting anymore?”

Steve laughed a bit nervously, “Well considering the woman I left is now in her 90s and only occasionally remembers me…”

“That’s not who I mean, Steve,” Bruce interrupted, giving Steve a rather serious look.

The super soldier cleared his throat and took another drink. He was about to open his mouth to play stupid again, but another glance at the doctor told him he wasn’t going to get away with it.

“Look, I know Toni,” Bruce started. “And she’s never going to admit she feels something, especially when it concerns you.”

Steve looked at him in shock, “You mean she said something to you … about feeling something for me?”

Bruce smiled, then laughed, “You’re serious?”

Steve decided he wasn’t going to justify that with an answer.

Bruce laughed again, “Oh okay, you are serious.” He cleared his throat, apparently trying to not laugh. Steve didn’t think he was trying hard enough. “Toni doesn’t say anything to anyone. But she doesn’t have to say anything, I’ve worked with her with her for a while now. You make her smile, she relaxes around you. She talks fondly of you.” Bruce paused and gave Steve a hard stare. “Doesn’t take a super genius to see that, Captain.”

Steve looked back to her again, seeing her direct a few of the waitresses around. Her smile was forced – he could tell. “Toni and I wouldn’t be able to work.”

“And in what realm of possibility would Natasha and I?” the doctor asked point blankly.

The Captain sighed heavily again, “Look, I just …”

“Whatever you’re going to say, maybe you should just forget it and go talk to her. You’ll see what I mean,” Bruce interrupted once again, pushed one of the martinis Nat made toward Steve, then moved off.

Steve grimaced and watched the good doctor walk off. He finished off the beer in his hand and leaned over the bar to grab another. If he was really going to do this, he was going to attempt to appear like he knew what he was doing.

With his beer and the martini in hand, Steve navigated his way up to the second floor where Toni still stood. As he came up the stairs, the crowd began to thin out. At the top, he had a clear line of sight on her. She leaned over the railing slightly, raising one foot, twirling it before shifting on her feet and doing the same with the other. He smiled and made his way toward her, feeling a bit more relaxed about the upcoming conversation.

Steve came up to her side and Toni turned, giving him a genuine smile, which melted him a bit. When her eyes dipped down from his and caught the drinks in his hands, they widened a bit. “You brought me a drink?”

Steve shrugged, handing her the martini before he smiled. “You seemed a little lonely up here. Thought you could use some company.”

She pursed her lips, obviously keeping back a laugh, and took the glass, “What is it?”

“Something Natasha mixed up, so tread carefully,” he replied, giving her a blank look as he popped off the top of his beer.

Toni looked at the glass, then at him. Then she held his gaze as she brought the drink up to her ruby lips. Steve brought his beer up as well, taking a drink as she did.

“Hmmm,” she remarked. “Not bad.”

Steve chuckled softly and moved a bit closer to her, mimicking her stance of leaning forward on the railing. They stood in what Steve was proud to call an easy, comfortable silence. He also tried to be observant of her … without being obvious. Toni sipped her drink slowly, her eyes scanning over the crowd. Slowly but surely, he felt her shift next to him and noticed how relaxed she really was. Maybe Bruce was on to something…

“For a proclaimed partier, I sure haven’t seen you at your own party much,” he commented softly.

Toni shrugged, giving him that sly smirk that told him she was going to tease him. “Not my scene anymore, Cap. Maybe your oldness is starting to rub off on me.”

Steve snorted, taking a drink of beer, “Please. We know that’s never going to happen.”

When he glanced over at her, she was smiling at him, but it just didn’t reach her eyes. “Just not the same Toni Stark anymore, Steve,” she said softly.

She turned her eyes from him after that but he couldn’t keep his off her. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing, Toni,” he answered softly.

Toni pursed her lips, “Yeah? I don’t know about that.”

“Well,” he started. “I didn’t really know that Toni Stark, but I like you as is. And before you make some smart remark, I know it sounds cheesy. But sometimes those things are just as honest.”

At that, she shrugged, “Maybe you’re right. I haven’t had enough cheesy in my life to know to be honest.”

Steve was a little glad to not have a response to that. Their comfortable silence returned and prevailed through the moment; he was happy to let it. Besides, ball was in her court now. It was her chance to let him know if his presence was still wanted. The song changed and the murmur of voices in the room became a bit more tolerable for Steve. In fact, standing next to Toni now, he felt more at ease than he had all night.

“So, it’s back to normal with everything huh?” Toni asked suddenly.

Steve looked over at her, eyebrows raised, “What do you mean?”

“Well, job’s done. We got the magic glowstick, Strucker is in prison,” Toni rambled off. “We go our separate ways once more.”

Her words were very straight forward, but looking at her, he knew it was more than Toni wanting to crawl back into her lab. “Doesn’t have to be that way,” he responded softly.

She turned and gave him a soft smile, “Oh yeah? You wanna hang out, Cap?”

Steve turned toward her, leaning on one elbow on the railing, “Why not? We go back to how it was, how else are you going to tease me about my old age?”

At that, she out right laughed – throwing her head back. Steve watched with a smile, feeling an odd thump in his chest. She looked over at him, those brown eyes of hers sparkling almost as she met his gaze. “Can you imagine? The two of us out on the town?”

Seeing his opening, Steve moved closer to her, “Oh I don’t know, Toni. Doesn’t seem so bad to me.”

She gave an amused snort. “Well … I do love any chance to tease you.”

“Dinner and drinks doesn’t sound so out of the realm of possibility now does it?” he asked, giving her what he hoped was his most charming smile. He had never been smooth with any dame, even Peggy, but he liked to think he’d been getting better.

Toni leaned toward him, her slender shoulder pushing against him, “Eh, I guess there are stranger things.”

“We could go to your favorite ritzy place. I’ll even let you order for me,” he joked.

Toni laughed lightly again, “Sort of sounds like a date, Steve.”

Steve shrugged and took another drink of his beer, “Exactly.”

 _That was charming and smooth,_  he thought honestly.  _Yeah … that was definitely good._

Toni laughed again, this time a bit louder. Until she looked over at him and caught what he assumed was the honest look on his face. Suddenly, Toni looked very shocked. Steve had to admit, he thought she rather looked cute stunned like that.

“You … you mean …” Toni stopped through her stuttering and cleared her throat. “Are you asking me out on a date, Steve?”

Steve chose to play nonchalant again, “Are you saying yes?”

Her look of shock slowly transformed to what he could only describe as pure panic. Suddenly she swallowed hard, her face going a tad pale. “I …”

That was all she was able to get out before some young man in a waiter’s uniform skidded up beside her, looking very frantic Steve thought. “Um, Ms. Stark?” he stuttered.

Toni turned to him, looking a bit relieved as she did so. “That’s me, kid.”

“Um, well, I was told to come find you. There seems to be a problem with the keg system. We’ve tried everything but …” the waiter rambled.

Toni turned and handed her drink to Steve, quickly returning her attention back to the young waiter. “Okay, okay. Clam down. I’ll be right there.”

As the waiter scurried off, she looked back at Steve and her mouth gaped open again. Then she cleared her throat and stood up straight, smoothing down her dress. “I, uh … I got to … yeah.”

Then she turned and just walked away. If he had just met Toni, Steve might have been offended or realized there really was no chance with the two of them. But it was the look in her eyes that told him otherwise. And he had come to know Toni well enough to read it – she  _did_  like him and it scared the shit out of her.

Feeling more determined than ever before, Steve marched off to find her. It took a few minutes to find someone who could point him in the direction she ran off to. As he started down the stairs into the apparent wine cellar of the Tower (which was only on a lower floor – hardly a cellar by any means), he could hear Toni’s voice – a slightly annoyed tone coloring her words as she obviously strained to keep herself in check.

“Look, I don’t know how you handle this at other venues,” Toni said sounding as if she was exerting some force against something. “But here, you respect the tech.”

Steve reached the bottom of the stairs and couldn’t help but smile looking at the group of waiters crowded around one of the large kegs. And there was Toni, in her dress and high heels, a wrench in her hands as she messed with the spout at the top of the keg.

Just looking at her made his chest feel funny.

Whatever she was trying to do must have been accomplished because the wrench twisted and Toni released a big breath, pulling back and wiping her brow. There seemed to be relief amongst the small group of waiters gathered, but it was short lived as Toni turned to them with a fierce gaze, holding the wrench out at them like a weapon.

“Respecting the tech means not bashing the tech with tools, got it?” she demanded.

Steve watched with an amused smirk as the waiters nodded vigorously in agreement.

Toni then waved the wrench in a dismissal gesture, “All right, get out of here,” she said.

And they did just that, as if their asses were on fire. He moved to the side as they scurried past him. Toni had already turned back to the keg, murmuring as she tweaked a bit more with it. When the door closed and it was just them in the silence, Steve stepped off the stairs, his shoes scuffing on the floor. Toni turned quickly, body tense, wrench raised. When her brown eyes landed on him, however, she immediately relaxed. Just a bit.

She immediately adverted her eyes, reaching over to put the wrench down on a nearby small table. “Freakin’ kids think if they hit something hard enough, it will fix everything,” she mumbled.

“It doesn’t?” Steve joked, taking a few steps toward her.

The question got her to look up at him, though it was with a glare. Still, he happily noted, she eventually smiled, killing her glare and her cheeks turning a soft pink. “Who’s doing the teasing now?” she accused, no fire in her voice.

“I am enjoying the tables being turned for a change,” he admitted.

To that, she snorted and grabbed a rag from the table to wipe her hands off. The tension in her shoulders was still evident. Nerves, Steve decided as he headed toward her. He’d also decided he had the perfect solution to her fears.

At the sound of his footsteps, she turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him. “Look, Steve, if you were serious about that date thing, I have to be honest with you…”

That was just about all he let her get out. He firmly – but gently – took hold of her upper warm and turned her to him fully. He was thinking of all those movies he loved back in the 40s. The ones where the lead actor just took the dame and kissed the hell out of her. Just like those reels, Toni looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes. Steve brought her body up against his, then leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

Just as he thought; through her attitude was rough and her words hard around the edges, Toni Stark was all soft, from her lips to her curves, all pressed against him.

It probably only lasted a few seconds, but to Steve, it felt a few blissed moments before he slowly – reluctantly – pulled back. He opened his eyes, watching her reaction intently for any sign that she was upset. Or that she would punch him.

For 10 seconds, she kept her eyes closed, her pink lips parted slightly as her fingers curled around the front of his shirt. When her eyes did flutter open, her brown gaze looked at him as if she almost adored him.

“Whoa,” she breathed, chest heaving against his.

“Good whoa?” Steve asked, his breath just as quiet, hopeful even.

Toni swallowed hard and nodded, “Oh yeah. Which is … not weird, right?”

Steve felt his heart ramming against his chest as his hands slipped from her hips, up her back holding her even closer to him. “Definitely not.”

“Okay good. That’s really good because I’m feeling the need to kiss you again,” she said matter-of-factly, her hands moving over his shoulders.

“You are?” he asked, unable to keep the surprise from flooding him.

One of her slender hands slipped into his hair and he felt himself shiver. “Oh yeah,” she stated with a decisive nod, pressing her body against him and closed the distance between her lips and his.

This kiss was all Toni; demanding, consuming. Steve wrapped his arms around her and held her so closely, he picked her up off her feet. She gave a little surprised noise against his mouth, which he enjoyed way too much. Her arms had tightened around him, holding on as he took two steps back. He lifted her up a bit more until her bottom hit the table.

Toni gasped and pulled back from him and Steve froze, afraid he did something wrong. But she only laughed, hands pressed against his chest. “The table is fucking cold!” she giggled, wiggling her body a bit forward as her hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer.

He couldn’t help but laugh yet be absolutely entranced as she moved closer to him and then, the skirt of her dress hiked up, wrapped her legs around his waist, letting them rest on the line of his hips.

“Never worried about it being cold. Funny I never thought about that,” Toni rambled quietly as her thighs urged him closer.

“You’ve …thought about this?” he asked carefully, not sure if she was referring to a general fantasy she had or if she was talking about a scenario he starred in. He hoped to God it was the latter.

She gave him a sly smirk that hinted to many things. “Oh you bet your sweet ass I have, Cap,” she whispered, pulling him back against her as she kissed the hell out of him.

The part of his brain that had always regulated him on what he should and shouldn’t do apparently shorted out. He was okay with that, he found. Completely okay with that. Especially when Toni was wrapped around him like a second skin, her body soft, the taste of her kisses amazing. She was just lovely, really. As corny as it might sound to her if he told her, it was the one thought Steve had over and over. She was absolutely lovely; lovely to see, lovely to hear, lovely to hold.

“Oh shit!” a voice suddenly caught Steve’s ears and he pulled out of the kiss with Toni, turning enough to see two of the waiters had returned.

“We’re sorry!” the other called out, laughing as he grabbed his buddy’s arm and they left just as quickly as they had arrived.

Steve let out a laugh as he turned back to Toni, “Oops?”

She laughed too, one of her hands still in his hair, the other resting on his shoulder. She shook her head and looked down, “Never a moment long enough,” she mused.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t try again later,” he found himself saying.

Toni looked back up at him, a surprised and bright smile on her face. “That is very true, Cap. Very true.” She pulled her hands back, starting to straighten his collar and smooth down the wrinkles in his shirt. “Did you plan on heading back to D.C. tonight?” she asked quietly.

Steve wet his lips, watching her hands as they moved over him. “Are you inviting me to stay the night, Toni?” he asked.

She laughed softly and he swore he saw her blush. “You’re teasing me again,” she said softly. “I can’t remember a time when a man teased me as much as you.”

“I like teasing you,” he responded, gently caressing her cheek. “Especially when it makes you smile like that.”

Toni gave a good-natured scoff, “Captain America the Romantic. Who knew?”

“Oh you severely underestimate me, Ms. Stark,” he said evenly, diving his fingers into her long, soft hair.

That spark she got in her eyes when she saw an interesting challenge burned in her gaze and was the last thing he noted before he brought her mouth against his for another slow-burning kiss. Steve was more than satisfied with the soft, wistful sigh that left her when they parted again.

“Does that mean you’re coming to my bed and having your secret, wicked way with me tonight?” Toni whispered, more than a little hope in her voice.

Steve chuckled, taking his time carding his fingers through her hair. “I think it’s a definite yes.”

She licked her lips and then kissed him again, catching him by surprise. It was short; she pulled back and laughed, pushing him back only enough for her to hop off the table and shimmy her dress back into place. Her body moving against his promised more exciting things later.

Steve straightened up his shirt as well, which had been ruffled a bit again from Toni’s wondering hands. When he was finished, he looked back to her and found her watching him with a small, fond smile turning up the corner of her lips.

“Good?” he asked to her gazing.

Toni chuckled, reaching forward, swiping her thumb on his bottom lip. “Annoyingly perfect as always,” she said, wiping what he assumed was her lipstick from his mouth. “Can’t wait to ruffle you up a bit for once.”

Something hot ignited in Steve and before he realized what he was doing, his hand reached out and grabbed her wrist gently. Her brown eyes widened as she looked up at him. He leaned closer, almost to kiss her. “Careful what you wish for, Stark,” he playfully warned, smirking before he pecked her lips.

When he pulled back and released her hand, she looked momentarily stunned. Steve felt a pride sweep over him; he had done that. She looked up at him and scoffed again, trying not to smile as she pushed his shoulder roughly. Of course he barely moved.

“Stop looking like you won a game or something, would ya?” she accused, moving around him and heading toward the door.

He followed behind her, laughing because really, he felt like he  _had_  won something. He’d been able to get her to loosen up and maybe get a bit closer to admitting what she felt for him. Plus she asked him to stay; that was a definite win.

Steve felt an urge to hold her hand as they ascended back to the party; he wasn’t worried about what the team would say or think. But he realized how fragile Toni really was still. When she made a public display, it had to be on her terms. There was no way in hell Steve was going to throw her to the wolves when she was far from ready.

So they walked back up to the party in silence, looking at one another every so often and Toni taking a side step to nudge her body against his. He couldn’t stop grinning. It was set to become one of the best nights he had in a very long time. Sitting around with the team later – his friends – joking and laughing, getting sly little smiles and winks from Toni, made Steve feel like life was finally on track. He could see a future with these people who could be more than just a team. He could feel himself relax. He could see a chance at life without fighting forever…

Then Ultron appeared and Toni and Bruce revealed their secret. Steve would never forget the tone of Toni’s voice when Thor accused her of meddling with powers she couldn’t understand. He would never forget the look in her eye when he told her angrily that she should have trusted the team; trusted him.

It wasn’t until everyone was finally settled after the regroup that Steve realized Toni has slipped out quietly, like she was very good at. He bolted back down toward her lab, his blood roaring in his ears. The look on her face earlier when she was told them all about why she had even  _thought_  something like Ultron would be a good idea had made his heart feel like lead in his stomach. He just wished she had reached out to the team, to  _him_ …

Just as he literally jumped over the railing of the staircase to avoid going down the last flight, Toni emerged from her lab, moving quickly as if something was right on her tail.

“Toni,” Steve called out to her, just short of yelling. But she continued hustling toward the elevator, which he assumed would lead her to her rooms where she could hide from him more.

“Toni, wait,” he raised his voice again and felt his heart skip as she came to a stop rather reluctantly. But nevertheless.

As he grew closer to her, she turned slightly and gave him a blank expression. He wasn’t to be thwarted however.

“Did you have any luck with Jarvis?” he asked, his voice quieter.

He watched as she swallowed hard and shook her head, averting her eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Whatever Ultron did, he was very effective.”

Steve’s heart ached for her. The sadness lurking in her quiet ones and that he knew was in her eyes was something he wished he could eliminate for her. “I’m so sorry, Toni.”

She shrugged, “Just a piece of tech,” she mumbled.

His brow furrowed as he took a step closer to her, dying to gather her up in his arms, to take away her pain. “Jarvis was more than that to you. He was more than that to all of us…”

Toni swallowed hard and put distance between them when he reached for her. She wrapped her arms around herself, “I don’t know what everyone’s plans were after the party, but could you let them know they are welcome to crash here. There’s plenty of room.”

Steve dropped the hand he had reached out to her with. “Hill already has everyone bunked up.”

She nodded. “Good. Don’t have anyone worry about the mess here,” she said immediately, already turning away from him and back on her original path. “I’ll call someone in the morning and have them come start the clean up.”

Steve was quick to follow her as she started to move away. “Toni, wait, I think we should…”

Toni turned back, rather catching him off guard. Now that he was closer, he saw just how deep the sadness was in her eyes. “Look, Steve, I really don’t have it in me to go another round of good guy, bad buy. Especially with you,” she said, straining to keep her voice level.

His brow furrowed, “No one thinks you’re the bad guy, okay?”

She laughed, but there was no humor in her voice, “Yeah, well I guess you and I remember that conversation very differently.”

Steve swallowed hard, not knowing what to say in all honesty. He knew she was hurt, but still, he couldn’t defend her actions entirely. “Toni,” he started carefully. “I just wish you would trust us…”

“Trust?” Toni interrupted quickly, finally looking him straight in the eye. Hers were blazing. “You think it’s  _me_  who doesn’t have trust?! Are you fucking serious right now? How can …”

Steve locked his jaw as she trailed off, shaking her head. He would never be sure why, but everything in him froze. He couldn’t rebuff her because, for the first time that evening, Steve realized that no, he couldn’t trust Toni. She was rash, more irrational as of late. Part of him said he should have seen this Ultron thing coming, should have known that Toni was going to go over the top to do what she thought was protecting the world.

When her eyes met him, he could see she knew he was thinking it too.

“Look, this thing between you and me obviously isn’t going to work. Especially now, so …”

“Wait,” Steve interrupted her, finally finding his voice. “You’re not even going to give us a chance? Toni, we haven’t even…”

She held up her hand and he stopped. “You asked me to come back, Steve. You asked for a favor, even after I told you…” Toni stopped and her eyes closed, the deep sigh that left her lips sounding shaky.

After a moment, she looked at him again and Steve saw the Stark façade she had always been keen to keep up in place once more; the one he had been so proud earlier to have slipped behind.

“The Howard Stark you knew was not my father,” Toni said, her voice like steel. “My father was ruthless, cruel, unyielding. I still to this day do not know why he married my mother. Maybe he loved her at one point, but by the time I came along, that was gone.”

She paused and swallowed hard. Steve felt a dull hurt bloom in his chest at seeing the tears beginning to glisten in her brown eyes. “And my mother,” she started again, but her voice choked on emotion. “She loved him, but she didn’t trust him. That turned her into a very bitter woman.”

Toni leveled him with a serious stare. “With no trust, there’s nothing for love. And I … I can’t be like them, Steve. I won’t become my father.”

They stared at one another, the space between them feeling like it was wider than just a few paces now. Her resolve was crumbling; he watched it unfold like a terrible wreck he couldn’t avoid.

Toni blinked rapidly, a few tears streaking down her cheeks and she wiped them away quickly. “So it’s best if we just call it before it begins. Because we Starks, we have a way of fucking things up. It’s the only thing we’re good at.”

“Toni,” Steve tried, not sure what, if anything, that he could do now. He had already caused the biggest damage to her.

She shook her head. “Good night, Steve.”

She may have said good night, but it felt like goodbye.


End file.
